The Power of Purpose; How to Disrupt Your Industry and Prosper

There are some businesses where you walk in and you just feel energized. The place is alive. There is something more to it than the colours of the walls, the furniture, or even the shop displays. A productive culture draws the right people to it; those who share the passion.
A vibrant and productive culture is more than employees having fun or being highly focused on achieving tasks. What you feel and are drawn to is the dynamic between the people. Their energy is directed towards a purpose, and their diverse talents and perspectives are contributing to something big. They create an atmosphere of subdued expectation.
Creating a productive business culture has nothing to do with the business industry, size or structure. In our work we have seen companies as diverse as engineers, supermarkets, consulting firms, and carers achieve it.

It’s relatively easy to dissect the various components of a great business culture. Employees are well trained and led, customers are highly satisfied, and the business systems support a hassle-free transaction. Business advisors, consultants, or coaches could easily dissect those elements further to see what makes them work; and in doing that they miss the big thing.

The way the best businesses serve customers or process sales is not the core ingredient to creating their vibrant and effective culture. The thing they have in common is that they see the business as a system, and that the system exists for a purpose. The purpose is why they started the business in the first place and it drives everything, supported by strong values that reinforce what they believe in.

The most successful businesses put the business purpose at the heart of the business and then empower employees to be the driving force for achieving that purpose. This is not the conventional wisdom, which is why those companies with a vibrant and engaging culture are usually the disruptors in their industry. They are highly rewarded for being unconventional.

When comparing business performance, it is clear that, as in marketing, there is nothing more powerful in financial performance than a vibrant and effective business culture. Those with the productive culture are consistently the high performers.

Employees who are empowered to act are highly productive when they have the direction of a clear business purpose, access to relevant information, and the resources to facilitate their work. They have meaning behind their work and are therefore willing to be held accountable and seek opportunities to contribute. At The H Factor, we call this the ‘discretionary effort switch’.

As a system for attracting customers, an engaging and productive business culture is hard to beat. Then consider that the same culture also attracts the best employees. We can only wish your rivals good luck in competing with that.

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WHEN

When will you get to step back - and others step up?

What if the next step in your business was so clear to you that you could proceed without fear and have the confidence to let go of the need to ‘manage’ everything yourself? Where your team are so clear of the business purpose ‘they drive it like they own it’.